1. Field of the Invention
This invention has to do with the machining of disc brake rotors.
More particularly this invention sets forth a method of machining disc brake rotors of all-wheel drive off highway construction equipment without the need of disassembling the brake rotor from the vehicle. The service brake pads are replaced with resurfacing pads and the rotors are rotated by the vehicle drive train while the vehicle is raised off the ground.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In resurfacing the rotors of off highway vehicles, as well as other vehicles, it has always been necessary to remove the rotors from the vehicles and take them to a machining station where they would be machined or resurfaced on stationary equipment. This would entail jacking up the vehicle, removing the wheels, removing the brake caliper assembly, removing the brake rotors, transporting the rotors to a machine shop, machining the rotors, and returning the rotors to the vehicle. The rotors would then be reinstalled, the brake calipers reinstalled, the wheels replaced and the machine lowered back to the ground. In all-wheel drive vehicles having planetary final drives, the amount of disassembly and reassembly is even more complex and time consuming.
In some applications, mostly heavy duty off road vehicles, this process is a very time consuming and costly process. Downtime for maintenance on off road vehicles is counter productive and inefficient hence to be minimized wherever possible.
Disc brake rotors of highway vehicles, such as passenger cars, are often integrally cast with the wheel bearing retainers. In these situations the resurfacing of the rotors also necessitates removal, cleaning, repacking and adjustments of the wheel bearings on the axles. Obviously these bearing related steps can be eliminated if the rotors don't have to be removed for resurfacing. Resurfacing in situ will save many steps in the resurfacing operation.